Monaleo’s lyrics have a way of becoming reality.
It’s been two years since the Houston rapper dropped “Don Who Leo,” in which she admits to sipping Don Julio for a night out of fun. Now, she’s cashing in on those lyrics thanks to a new partnership with the tequila brand, introducing her drink of the summer: the Don Lemonade.
“It’s such a cool experience and a really cool feeling,” Monaleo told AFROTECH™ Culture in an interview timed to the partnership. “I love when I’m able to show my parents and grandparents the things that I’ve accomplished, and it translates in their world.”
She added, “Sometimes, like you know, you explain something to them about a show and they’re like ‘OK, cool.’ They know Don Julio, so this wasn’t something I had to sell to them. All I had to do was just tell them, ‘Guess what I’m doing?’ And we almost threw a party because we were so excited and had been anticipating getting that call from Don Julio one day. So the fact that it has come and it was something that felt so organic and so natural was really cool. I’m so glad that they acknowledged me as a brand as well. That means a lot to me because I work hard on just trying to keep my face card clean, and just trying to be a reputable artist out here in the industry. It meant the world to me and I can’t wait to continue to do more.”
Her path to prominence
A Houston native, Monaleo rose to prominence in 2021 thanks to her viral hit “Beating Down Yo Block,” which did numbers on TikTok and Instagram.
From there, her career took off, with a run of female-empowerment anthems rooted in Southern hip-hop.
“There’s a whole city of people who feel represented when you put on for them,” she said. “So, it took me a while to also realize that because I thought I just bled Houston. I thought it just gave when you see me, you see Houston, like, what’s understood don’t got to be explained, but sometimes people are curious, like I’m curious about what’s going on up north. I’m not from there, I don’t know what be going on up there. I’m sure it’s snow and all types of sh*t I don’t know, you know. That’s not our thing down here in Texas. It’s hot. It literally feels like 113 degrees out today. So a snow day? No boo, that’s not my [norm]. But it’s their culture and I’m curious about that.”
“It kind of put things into perspective for myself. There’s a lot that I’m about to just teach people and show people through my eyes as well,” Monaleo continued. “Different people will say different things about Houston, but I’m glad to tell my perspective.”
On choosing brand partnerships
When she set out to pursue rap, Monaleo launched her career completely on her own, funding her early music, hiring her own team, and organizing independent distribution.
Following her success and the release of her 2023 debut album, Where the Flowers Don’t Die, she partnered with Columbia Records for her more recent release of the 2025 project, Who Did the Body.
As she continues to reach new heights of success, Monaleo is adamant about staying true to herself, and the same applies when choosing which brand deals to say yes to.
“I think it’s a feeling,” she explained. “I think it’s about how does it make me feel? Do I feel this properly represents me? Can I get with the terms? What are the deliverables? Is it something that makes sense for me and feels like my fans can get behind it? I love when it’s an easy sale with my supporters, because the thing about doing brand deals is it’s just that awkwardness sometimes of like, ‘Hey guys, buy this thing,’ or ‘Look at this thing that I’m trying to show you.’ When it’s something that makes sense, it’s almost like your supporters are happy for you – they’re almost rooting for you.”
“Like, oh my gosh, finally this has happened. It was so easy, and to see everyone pulling up in their pink, wearing their grills, and buying bottles out of the store just for me to sign them, it made me feel really good as an individual and as a brand as well, because it made me see tangibly, like, I do have something to offer to these brands. It means the world to me every time they take a chance on partnering with me. I always try to show up and show out.”
On May 29, Monaleo teamed up with Teezo Touchdown to release “Everything Pinka,” which has drawn attention from fans.
It’s a bit of a different vibe than what fans may be used to hearing from her, yet it remains rooted in her self-proclaimed pimpcess vibes, down to the music video, which pays homage to fellow Houstonian Beyoncé’s 2005 visuals for “Check On It.”
“I think it just says Monaleo is becoming a little more liberated in the way that she shows up as an artist,” she explained. “And that doesn’t mean that I’m going in a specific genre where I’m specifically doubling down on one thing or another. I think I’m just allowing myself to be and not feel the pressure of what people expect from you as a female rapper.”
Monaleo added, “I love listening to my supporters. I love appeasing them, but sometimes it’s like, I got here [by] being myself, so I have to be authentic and true to that. I think that’s what that song and whatever is coming up speaks to.”
Before fully dedicating herself to rap, the musician, born Leondra Roshawn Gay, studied mortuary science at Prairie View A&M University, which may just be why she has no shame or fear about talking about death, using it as motivation to live life to the fullest.
On life, legacy and looking ahead
“Five or ten years from now, I’m gonna be 30 or 35. Jesus Christ!” Monaleo exclaimed. “Girl, what do I want? I’m still gonna be outside. What I want people to know five or 10 years from now is that life is truly worth living. Sometimes, we get in our heads, and we get swamped with all the things that we go through and all the adversities we face on a consistent basis, and we allow these things to deter us from enjoying the life that we’ve been blessed with.”
“I think we forget how rare it is to simply exist. There’s a lot of people, there’s a lot of things that just don’t even make it to fruition. There are so many different universes. We don’t know what’s going on out there in the world. We’re literally a tiny little speck on this big, huge painting, and I think we really make these issues that we have so big. I fall victim to this consistently. I’m a very emotional, empathetic lady. Everything is kind of like a huge deal to me, and I actually love and hate that. I just want myself and all of us collectively to understand how quickly and how fickle life is. How quickly life can go – it’s fleeting. We’re here today and gone tomorrow. We’re literally just a little speck in time, and I think when we realize that, we’ll have a little bit more fun around this b*tch!”
